Real Sociedad host Deportivo La Coruña at the Anoeta on 11 October 2026, a La Liga Matchday 8 fixture with both sides level on 10 points after seven matches. Deportivo arrive without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, their leading scorer, which is the single biggest factor shaping how this game is likely to unfold.
Matarazzo has been at Real Sociedad since 20 December 2025, taking over from Sergio Francisco after Imanol Alguacil's earlier departure and there is no managerial head to head record between him and his opposite number, Antonio Hidalgo, who was appointed on 10 June 2025 to replace Óscar Gilsanz and guided Deportivo to promotion as Segunda runners-up with 77 points in 2025-26.
Sociedad arrive off a 3-2 win over Valencia on 20 September with their form across five games reading W-D-W-L-W, a team that can put goals past anyone but doesn't always keep them out. Deportivo's 1-1 draw with Betis the same day left their recent run at W-W-D-L-D, just one defeat in seven, though without Aubameyang they are short of someone to turn those draws into wins on the road.
Sociedad's injury list is substantial: Álvaro Odriozola is out with an ACL injury, Jon Aramburu is sidelined for two to three weeks with a calf problem and Orri Óskarsson is suspended after his red card against Valencia, with Héctor Fort and Igor Zubeldia both doubts due to a thigh/knee issue and a hamstring complaint respectively, leaving Matarazzo short in defence and short of natural width.
Aubameyang is out after knee meniscus surgery and won't return until mid November, a loss that is hard to overstate for a player who had scored five and assisted two in seven league appearances. Marc Casado misses out with a collarbone injury and Zakaria Eddahchouri is a doubt, so without Aubameyang, Deportivo are asking Yeremay Hernández and Mario Soriano to carry both the creativity and the finishing, the hardest parts of what Aubameyang was doing.
Sociedad under Matarazzo are a possession first team that look to hurt you on transitions by typically operating in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1 with the full backs pushed high and a double pivot sitting behind. Defensively there are real holes: 13 goals conceded in seven league games is not a good number. Mikel Oyarzabal is the organising force in attack, comfortable dropping deep or running in behind, with Luka Sučić threading line breaking passes through the lines and Gonçalo Guedes offering a running threat on the right.
Without Aubameyang, Deportivo rely on Hernández to carry the ball in transition with Soriano supplying from central midfield and Jonathan Asp Jensen adding movement in the final third. Hidalgo's 4-4-2 sits in a mid block that forces play wide by keeping both banks of four compact between the lines, though gaps should open when Deportivo push their wide midfielders forward chasing an equaliser. The absences of Odriozola and Aramburu are worth watching, because Deportivo's wide players could find space if Sociedad can't maintain their width without those two.
Oyarzabal against Deportivo's central defenders is the contest to watch, with Sociedad looking to manufacture overloads on the left, while Sučić and Soriano will be fighting for the same central pockets all game. Hernández's dribbling in transition could punish Sociedad if they sit their defensive line too high, which, given their full back absences, is a genuine risk.
Sociedad have won four of the last ten meetings between these sides, Deportivo just one, with five ending level and the most recent encounter in February 2018 finished 5-0 to Sociedad.
Deportivo's set piece threat is more relevant here than it might normally be, given that Sociedad are missing two of their natural full backs and will be less organised from corners and free kicks as a result and Deportivo will have noted that. On the other side, Sociedad's possession game should create chances for Oyarzabal and Sučić in open play.
Real Sociedad 2-1 Deportivo La Coruña. Oyarzabal's movement between the lines and Sučić's ability to find passes in tight spaces give Sociedad the tools to work through Deportivo's mid block and their record at the Anoeta reinforces that. Deportivo's most realistic route to a result runs through Hernández in transition and set pieces, the latter made more threatening by Sociedad's missing full backs but the loss of Aubameyang makes it hard to see them converting even if the chances come. A one goal margin is the most likely outcome, with Sociedad creating enough through their combination play while Deportivo's defensive discipline keeps it from getting embarrassing.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
